ADNAN SAMI
Top of the tops
http://www.screenindia.com/20011228/mcov.html
He is MTV’s ‘Breakthrough Artiste’ of the year. An award instituted especially for him after his debut album, Kabhi To Nazar Milao recorded the largest sales ever. Adnan Sami’s finally found a niche for himself in India, the country of his dreams, been welcomed by commercial Hindi cinema, and discovered a soulmate in Sabah, the Arab girl he married recently. Undoubtedly, 2001 has been Adnan’s year. A year he’s unlikely to forget, soon…
What was it like winning the MTV Award for ‘Breakthrough Artiste’, an award specially instituted for you?
Wow, it’s a huge honour! When I was first told about it, I was momentarily struck dumb. ‘Kabhi to nazar…’ has gone on to become the highest-selling album of all time which was why I was singled out for the honour. I want to dedicate the award to my listeners who’ve gone out in hordes, bought my cassette and brought me where I am today.
Other Stories
RAFI-DHARMENDRA: Melody with muscle
What were the thoughts zipping through your mind when you walked up the stage to receive your trophy?
(Laughs) There was so much I wanted to say but it was difficult because my mind was racing at 500 miles per hour and my tongue could cope with only 100. There must have been many who thought I was groping for words when actually I had a surplus of words handy but didn’t know how to string them together to make sense. There was so much emotion! I wasn’t just elated to be getting an award. The trophy, the appreciation and the acknowledgement, was the beautiful culmination of years of struggle. I did not stumble on success overnight, and all the trails and tribulations I’d been through were flashing across my mind’s eye during those moments on stage. (With a wry smile). I’ve received many awards in this small life but this one was more than just an award. It signified a certain historical moment. My album had broken all previous sales records in the country and it seemed incredible that I had stood by and watched it happen.
How much has Asha Bhosle contributed to the album’s success?
I’ll be eternally indebted to Ashaji. By lending her beautiful voice to it, she has blessed my album. She was also the one who urged me to release the album in Mumbai, and not London or Toronto where I’d been living. “Yahan sab kuch hai,” she’d tell me. Making it big in India had been my burning passion for years. The question was did I want to start all over again from scratch. It needed courage. Lots of it.
Why was it so important to prove yourself in India?
India is important because my roots are here. Even when I was living in boarding schools abroad, whenever I did anything really beautiful, the first thing I wanted was to come and share it with my family here. I’ve been trained by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and though I may have gone on to make different kinds of music since, I’ve always wanted to share my music with India.
So why did it take you so long to come down?
(Laughs) I was getting ready. And I’m glad I waited because today I am in a position to do what I want. I have always liked to constantly experiment with something new, and now when I want to try out different challenges, I have people ready to back my efforts.
Our audience has basically been fed a staple diet of Hindi films. They may have been wowed by ‘Kabhi to nazar milao…’ but in the long run will they embrace your somewhat unconventional brand of music?
I may have grown up on jazz, western and Indian classical music, but I’ve been exposed to my fair share of Hindi film music too. My father loved old classics and watching these films with him I was getting my dose of SD Burman, Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishen, C Ramchandra and RD Burman too. Like him I was a film buff but more interested in the composer of Albela than its hero, the music director of Pyaasa more than its melancholic maker. Sure, like every kid of my generation, I hero worshiped Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, but at the same time I idolised our music directors too. I only had to see the name Burman in the credits, and I’d forget everything to sit through the movie. That’s why in my music you’ll find western pop blending with Indian melody, classical strains going hand-in-hand with commercial movie elements. My music is a combo of pop and tradition. If you hear drums, you’ll hear the dholak too and plenty of stringed instruments that are very Indian. That’s the kind of flavour I’ve brought in and I think it’s this kind of middle-of-the-road appeal of my music that not only lends itself to private albums but to Hindi cinema too.
Did your choice of Asha Bhosle stem from your fascination with the Burmans?
I’ve been a big fan of Ashaji because she’s Ashaji. Period. It’s just a coincidence that she and RD Burman were married. But if her ‘Chura liya hai…’ was great then so was ‘Dil cheez kya hai…’ which was a Khayyam melody.
Had you ever imagined when you hit the markets with Kabhi To Nazar Milao that a year-and-a-half down the line the album would still be topping the charts?
These four walls are my world. In this room I play around and sometimes come up with something I like. I can only hope that others like the song too and buy it. That’s as far as I’d go. I’m not superstitious but I’m too scared of God’s will to be pretentious enough to say, “Yeh hit hai. Yeh chalegi.” Such a statement smacks of arrogance and over-confidence. That’s something I’ve always tried to steer clear off. If you have your feet on the ground it keeps you on your toes. And when you’re on this huge roller-coaster ride you have to be on your toes, right?
My music is a combo of pop and tradition. If you hear drums, you’ll hear the dholak too and plenty of stringed instruments that are very Indian. That’s the kind of flavour I’ve brought in
Right, so tell us about some of the interesting responses you’ve been getting to your much-loved album.
I have couples telling me that after hearing ‘Bheegi bheegi raatein…’ they’ve got back together again and are now engaged. There’s a lot of romance in my songs and I think that’s what makes them such a hit with teenagers and couples-in-love. Once when I was at the Delhi airport and about to board a flight for Mumbai, a young mother came up to me and confessed that her child who was a little more than a year old, was my biggest fan. I refused to believe her till the baby who must have seen me on TV, just turned to me and wordlessly held out her arms. She didn’t know my name but must have recognised my face and associated it with my song. And instantly she wanted to be held, cuddled. I was enchanted!
You sure are a hit with the little ones.
(Chuckling) Appears so. Once in an aircraft I noticed this beautiful three-year-old peeking at me from behind his parents’ backs. When he saw me watching him, he silently started doing the “lift” movement. I returned the gesture and it became like a secret code between us. After a while he came to me. I offered him candy and he shyly whispered, “Will you sing ‘Lift kara de…’ for me?” I pointed out that everyone was sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb them. He looked so sad that I crooned the song into his ear. He was ecstatic. So was I. I love kids. They are so pure. Too honest to lie or be diplomatic.
Is the album as a big a craze abroad as it is in India?
From the feedback I get from Asian radio and TV channels abroad, I believe it is doing extremely well in UK, Canada and the US.
So why are you whiling away your time re-mixing your old songs instead of coming out with something new? Re-mixes are for lesser artiste and not the fastest piano player in the world who’s just set a new sales record.
Hey, even Lata Mangeshkar has done remix albums though she may have marketed them as Shradhanjali. Ashaji’s doing them too with tremendous success. Re-mixing is not a new phenomenon though the word re-mix is. In the West everyone from Michael Jackson and Madonna to George Michael and Sting have done it.
What was your motivation?
(Grinning) Everyone has absurd ways of wasting time. This is my way of wasting it. One day, when I had some moments free, I started playing around with my melodies on the piano and came up with some really different versions. This was my kind of leggo, and when I played the new tracks the music company loved it. So there we were, with a remix album which luckily for me has done as well as the original.
The new video of ‘Lift kara de…’is really whacky. We believe it was your brainwave?
Yeah, I was wondering about this guy who was still asking for a lift. Everyone was sick of him and telling him off. I thought it would be interesting if I got hold of some of my favourite heroes from movie lore and got them to tell him off in their inimitable style and with their much-imitated-lines. That’s how I approached Jagdeep Sahab and convinced him to do a Soorma Bhopali from Sholay for me. And Asrani Sahab was the jailor, from Sholay again. It was a coup when Shatrughan Sinhaji whom I’d loved in Kala Patthar, agreed to bring the Teesra Badshah back to life again so I could poke fun at myself.
How did you get Shatru to accommodate you in his busy schedule?
I knew Shatruji was on a tight schedule but I hoped my fun video would appeal to his great sense of humour. It did. He had also liked the track. And agreed to put in an appearance. “I’ll do it just for you. I like your song. We’ll do the shoot in November,” he told me. I wondered if he could prepone the date by a few months. Shatruji was in the middle of his play. There were a hundred other things. He was busy. “But I’ll make some time for you in September,” he promised. “Can’t you push it a little forward,” I told him bravely. He just stared at me before asking me what date I had in mind. It was the end of July. Taking my courage in my hands I murmured, “August 15. It’s my birthday and I want to shoot with you on that day.” Without a moment’s thought he said, “Okay, done. That’ll be my birthday gift to you.” I was so touched.
Weren’t you intimidated by him?
Put me in front of a piano or a keyboard and I’m a happy boy. But acting is not my field. And when you have Shatruji opposite you, you are completely awed. So was I. I had to pinch myself time and again to make myself believe that the shoot was for real. Fortunately, I was required to go through the video with that look of wide-eyed wonder. And then Shatruji stumped me by saying, “Expression achcha hai!” It was a small compliment but it meant the world to me. All these guys were legends in their field, and they knew who they were. Yet, they never let the knowledge get to them. If you’re truly great you don’t have to flog it, your work speaks for itself. And I was amazed by their energy, enthusiasm and all the exciting ideas they had. Being next to them on camera was a big honour and I have private footage of the shoot to cherish.
Was it as exhilarating working with Govinda who appeared in the original video of ‘Lift kara de…’?
Govinda is a great actor and an amazing person. I had heard a lot about his erratic ways but I faced no such problems. He told me he would be on the set at 2 p.m. and he was. He was shooting with me all afternoon and we got so involved that even after the director called “Cut” we would continue enjoying ourselves. Govinda is the Entertainer No. 1 and I know that every smile he flashes is for real and so is the passion oozing from him. Eventually, he ended up even doing the lip synch for the song though it was not part of our deal. That’s the kind of actor Govinda is!
The title song is more melodious but it is ‘Lift kara de…’ that’s really caught on in a big way.
(Thoughtfully) That’s true. Of course, everyone liked ‘Kabhi to nazar…’ and ‘Bheegi bheegi…’ too but they’re romantic melodies and romance appeals to only a certain age group. But ‘Lift kara de…’ is the kind of song everyone can relate to because we all want something from life. Kids want toys, grown-ups want cars, someone else wants a house. No matter how rich or poor you are, you have desires, needs and wants. I guess that’s why the song has such mass appeal.
What about your recent hit from Ajnabee, ‘Mehbooba mehbooba…’? That was an instant rage too.
(Smiling)It’s a beautiful composition by Anu Malik. He’s bubbling with energy and passion. I like that. And I liked the song instantly. I was working on a composition of my own when Anu called and told me he had this number he wanted me to hear. And immediately started crooning it over the telephone. Within seconds I was singing it along with him in my head. I had a good feeling about the song. If it sounded so nice over the phone, it would surely sound better after we recorded it, I thought. But I’d never imagine it would be such a rage. You can’t predict these things. If you could every formula would work.
The title song of Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar is pretty cool too for a film on the mundane, middle-class subject of owners vs tenants.
(Nodding) Yeah, it is different from the other songs in the album. It’s a cute melody by Anand-Milind. I liked the arrangement too.
And now there’s Pyaasa with Sunidhi Chauhan.
Yeah, a Sanjeev-Darshan melody that’s pretty cute too. I hope it works.But you can never get so presumptuous as to say, “Yeh chalegi.” How can you ever know your audience that well!
Isn’t it time you got into composing too?
I am composing for a Hindi film though it’s too early to let out the details. I’ve also started work on a new album.
The pressure to excel or even match up to ‘Kabhi To Nazar Milao…’ must be great.
I’d be lying if I said there was no pressure. The first question I’m asked with raised eyebrows is: “What’s your second album like?” But when I shut the door to this room, I shut out the world. I tell myself, “Adnan, whatever has changed has changed outside these four walls. Within them, you should just continue to make the kind of music you like, the way you did before because that’s what worked. Be natural, make music for yourself and if you like it take it to the rest of the world.” I’m working as hard as before, may be even harder because I now have the tremendous responsibility of living up to the love and trust that my fans have put in me.
After touring the world extensively all these years, you suddenly seem to have put your roots here.
Yeah, India is home today. I love the work I’m doing here. I’ve been doing world tours all my life and they’re not as attractive today. What I haven’t been doing so far is making music in India. And since I got here, my soul has found that missing link it was looking for all these years. That vital chip that makes me complete. My music has found a beautiful home here. But I plan to take off to the UK and US soon on a tour and take all this music with me across the seven seas.
Is the man who makes such romantic music a real life romantic too?
I’m a die-hard romantic. I love the concept of romance. I love to romance.
And now you have the perfect person to romance, the Dubai girl you recently married.
Yeah, I have found a wonderful person to share all my love with. Our families have known each other for 30 years. Sabah and I have also known each other for a long time but it was only recently that we decided to tie the knot. There was a certain void in my life that she’s filled.
What’s she like?
Oh, she’s an amazing person. Very genuine, affectionate and kind-hearted with a great sense of humour. She’s wonderful company!
She likes your music?
(Smiling) She is a great fan of mine and my music. She loved ‘Bheegi bheegi…’, ‘Kabhi to nazar…’ and ‘Pyar bina jeena…’. She also loves India very much. She’s been visiting the country since she was a kid, and even though she is a local Arab girl, she can speak pretty okay Hindi. She is a Hindi film buff too and loves Indian food.
Has married changed you?
Life’s changed. Sabah’s instilled some much needed discipline in my household. Things have fallen into a routine now. But there’s been no change in my music. It’s as if my musical self is in an isolated chamber and evolves as the musician in me evolves. If marriage has changed me at all it’s only that I’ve become more passionate. I think everyone should be in love. And if you haven’t found it yet, you should forget everything and seek it. It’s essential that you have someone special in your life.
You’d fallen crazily in love once before too.
Yeah, but that episode had an unfortunate ending. When you love someone and she doesn’t love you it brings heartache, but there’s also the ecstacy of being in love. That’s perhaps why I recommend that everyone should try and recapture the experience again even if it didn’t work the first time. You just might find a Sabah like I did.